Armagedon

Invisible Circle / Dead Condemnation 

Thrashing Madness 2014

I can't stress how much Thrashing Madness keeps doing the underground a favor by rereleasing all these old classic Polish albums and this one is no exception.  Armagedon kills it with the repress of their 1993 album with bonus 1991 demo.  This is fast, destructive death metal that sounds like it did near the end of the golden era of the late 80s/early 90s.  An ominous throb and disturbing keys set the mood for Death Liberates.  Then a barrage of massive guitars kicks in before savagely shredding through your eardrums.  At times I am reminded of Malevolent Creation's early work as the riffs saw and the drums blast away.  Shades of Morbid Angel also make their way into the songwriting as the riffs and tempos change on a dime from whirlwinds to meaty grooves.  In The Land Of Uncertainty opens with a relentless assault of aggression and then relents into a lingering sway only to explode once more.  Circular riffs slice through the artillery strikes of intense drum strikes and furious speed on To The End Of My Life.  The bouncing riff at the 1:13 mark is so well placed it catches me off guard and I eagerly eat it up.  The Circle Of False Truths brings to mind Carnage with its dark gloomy main riff.  You are hit immediately on Two Faces with a Morbid Angel-esque riff that twists like a knife in a wound.  As I mentioned before, the Dead Condemnation demo is also featured on this release as tracks 11-16.  The production is perhaps fuzzier and muddier on the whole, but the same ferociousness and morbidity can be found within the demo tracks as is evidenced by The Term Of Existence.  A set of crushing riffs roll away as soon as the drums begin their merciless onslaught.  It is a rapid succession of riffs and time changes and horror-inducing vocals.  The quality of the songwriting and execution never falters between the two recordings.  Armagedon really brings back the glory days of early 90s death metal and you would do well to dive into this album.  This is brutality, the old school way!